Find the dark and hoard your wishes, my babies — the annual Perseid meteor shower is upon us. Among the finest sky shows in our solar system, the Perseids will be visible throughout the US and most of the Northern Hemisphere in the days to come.

The Perseid meteor shower is one of three that will be lighting up the summer night sky beginning in July. But it won't reach its peak until August.

Even if you've never really seen one, meteor showers actually happen all year. In fact, they happen so often that they overlap for significant percentages of the year. There are two times when three meteor showers will be active in October,